SOLUTIONS


Where cold foil can really benefi t packaging manufacturers is in the cost-savings opportunities it presents. One way to illustrate this is by simply comparing the costs of the met poly to the costs of cold foil.


A couple of years ago, it was not uncommon to fi nd laminated foil board at prices anywhere from $2 per sheet for low volumes under 1 million sheets per year, down to $0.60 a sheet for high volumes ranging from 1 to 10 million 28-in. × 40-in. sheets per year. That same project using cold foil would cost $0.27 for full-coverage foil and adhesive, plus an additional $0.20 for the high-end board used in production. That cuts the cost per sheet down to $0.47 and results in a large amount of savings in the long run. Just think if you were to buy even 10 million sheets, this would equal a savings of $1.3 million!


Cold foil also off ers great fl exibility on press. With met poly, you’re forced to utilize the entire sheet for your project; however, in cold foil you have the opportunity to run variable narrow webs or ribbons of foil—cutting your hard foil cost per sheet down strategically.


For example, the cost to cover a 28-in. × 40-in. area would be $0.27 to apply adhesive and cold foil per sheet. But if you’re covering only half that area, you cut your costs down to $0.135 a sheet. Equally, if you cut it down to 25%, you could be at $.0675 per sheet. Those savings really add up!


Lastly, when you’re worried about the environmental impact of your production processes, cold foil wins against met poly hands-down. While projects produced with cold foil are 100% recyclable, laminated foil board poses many challenges in the recycling process and cannot be recycled or reclaimed.


Why Would You Choose One or the Other Today?


Just a few years ago met poly had a higher shine, while cold foil still had a grainy look to it. Today, however, the shine is there, and cold foil competes directly against met poly. As we stated earlier, the whites and opaque areas are clearer and crisper with cold foil because it is printed directly on the board. If one makes their own met poly in-house, the process is most times a big bottleneck because production speeds are at most 3000 sheets per hour (sph).


In-line cold foil applications are compatible with press speeds ranging all the way up to the fastest press of 20,000 sph; however, the real world printing speeds average 10,000 sph to 14,000 sph at most.


Met poly manufacturers acknowledge cold foil as competition these days as well. Many suppliers have come way down in price, by as much as 75% of their original pricing, to compete with cold foil. Even still, cold foil is often the most economical option by far when you include logistics and fl exibility into the equation.


Consider the percentage of the sheet needed to achieve the desired foil coverage. The reality of what is used and needed is a non-competitive issue against met poly. Most met poly packages are fully covered and used on all sides with the shine because it is less expensive to use than covering large areas with opaque inks. But when presented on the shelf, most customers only see the front and maybe the tops of the boxes. We educate brand buyers how to cost-eff ectively get the same shelf impact, but avoid the increased cost of adding foil to places that won’t be seen when consumers walk down the aisle. And let’s not forget the brilliance cold foil can bring to their whites.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael King is the President/CEO and chief design engineer of Ocean, New Jersey based Eagle Systems, Inc. Michael has over 40 years expertise working exclusively with foil machinery. The company brings over 30 years of experience in designing and manufacturing customized foil stamping and cold foil in-line print enhancement equipment with their Eagle Systems brand. He educates all on the process of foiling and is recognized as “The Foil Expert” worldwide.


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